With the increase of gambling at gaming venues has come increased competition between gaming venues to obtain a larger share of the total gambling spend. Gaming venue operators have therefore continuously looked for new variations and types of games in order to attract both new and return customers to their venues.
In response to this need, suppliers of gaming devices and systems have attempted to provide the sought after variety, while still developing games that comply with the relevant regulations in the jurisdiction of the gaming venue operator. Suppliers of gaming devices therefore are faced with restrictions on the types of games and gaming apparatus that are allowable, both in terms of the prevailing regulations and in terms of providing a return on investment to the gaming venue operators.
Originally, gaming machines had physical spinning reels, which were controlled by a stepper motor. These gaming machines paid a prize if an outcome was spun up on a single central pay line that was a winning combination. Some later machines displayed three positions on each reel and provided three horizontal pay lines, one for each row that could be defined through the spinning reels.
It is now not uncommon for a player of an electronic gaming machine having a video display unit to be able to simultaneously play twenty-five or more pay lines in each activation of a game. It is usual and desirable to indicate to a player on screen the number of pay lines that can be purchased and how many pay lines have been purchased in a way that allows players to readily compare their purchase with what is available.
FIG. 14 shows an exemplary screen shot S8 of a game in which up to twenty-five lines can be played. The available twenty-five lines are indicated by pay line indicators 9. The player has selected to play ten lines and therefore the ten lines that are being played are highlighted. Typically, if a win occurred on one of the pay lines being played, the pay line which displays the winning outcome is highlighted, for example by flashing both the symbols in the outcome that meant that it was a winning combination and flashing the corresponding pay line indicator 9. Indication of the winning pay lines is required by the relevant gaming regulations in many jurisdictions.
There is a need or want in the industry for gaming machines to have a high number of pay lines, for example machines with 50, 100 or more pay lines. However, the higher the number of pay lines that are available, the more difficult it becomes to clearly display the pay lines on screen. In addition to providing information that allows a player to play the game in an informed way, a game designer or gaming machining manufacturer must overcome the problem of presenting the game in an attractive way.